Black Panther review

February 23, 2018

Photo Courtesy of IMBD.com

“Black Panther” is the final Marvel movie to release before the long-awaited Avengers: Infinity War. Although there are international ties within the plot of the movie, the majority of the screen time focuses on the fictional country of Wakanda and the politics that occur within it. For those of you who do not know, Wakanda is the most technologically advanced civilization on Earth but chooses to remain hidden due to the corruption of the current global superpowers. The movie takes place right after the events of Captain America: Civil War which led to the death of the previous king of Wakanda, King T’Chaka. Prince T’Challa is the next rightful heir and eventually becomes the king. Now, onto the review.

The movie alludes to the central conflict pretty early on which is the question of reaching out to the rest of the world or remaining hidden. This is a simple extension of the classic us versus them problem. The Wakandans have created a near perfect barrier around themselves that keeps them isolated from the rest of the world. Although they were able to prosper on their own, the black populations around the world continue to face oppression. This is where Killmonger, the primary “antagonist”, steps in. Killmonger is the other side of the conversation advocating for the War Hawk-like spreading of Wakandan technology and weapons to those who have been oppressed. Killmonger wants his people to rise up and fight back against those who oppress them. The villain is more of an antihero because, at the end of the day, he is trying to end global oppressin…via mass violence. The other supporting characters each have their unique identities and relationships with one another.

Other than the plot and characters, the cinematography, action sequences, and CGI are amazing as well. The fighting scenes are beautifully choreographed to the point where you start to feel for the bad guys when they get punched. There is one scene where the camera follows T’Challa as he is fighting inside an underground club and it requires the eyes to follow a lot of action and movement all at once, which is the perfect recipe for a good old-fashioned brawl with superpowered beings. The only thing that was better than all of these other aspects of the movie, was the interpretation and use of vibranium in Wakanda. The technology that is portrayed is incredibly original and far beyond any expectations. There are so many gadgets and tech that it is hard to keep track of everything the movie showed. Overall, “Black Panther” is a great movie that should be seen more than once.